Friendships that last
by Wayfarer Fox
Summary: After a peculiar event Nick get to catch up with Finnick's, his long time friend. As they get drunk watching the sunset they go over their life events and how things have changed, their regrets and were they ended. I don't really know how long this will be, but expect it to be rather short. There are references to other fanfictions and artwork which I'll reference around.
1. Two foxes walk into a bar

"Here you go Officer Wilde! One package for Judith Laverne Wilde.", said the customs cashier.

So much paperwork just to get Judy's flower seeds: she had to get something more challenging to grow in our garden, but the genius here had to suggest lotus. It was the most uncommon flower I could think of, but Carrots wouldn't settle for the common white lotus you could find in some exotic flower shop in the Rain Forest District, no, black lotus it was.

"Thanks kiddo, have a nice day!", waved off Nick.

"Oh, Officer! Could you do us a favor?", asked the cashier, a bit uncomfortably.

"If I can, yeah. What do you need?"

"We've got a bag of marulas that someone tried to skip through the airport customs and hadn't the right paperwork to import it. We would have to wait 'till friday when an Officer from ZPD took it for proper destruction, but the smell is already attracting bees and other insects. Could you please take it to the landfill? We got all the papers ready, already." She put a brown satchel in the table with some forms by its side on the counter.

The sweet scent hit him like a brick: sweet as caramel, but with such an alcoholic presence that it could be easily confused with liquor. That's marulas for you.

"Oh, ok. Just drop it there with these forms?", asked Nick, puzzled.

"Pretty much.", confirmed the cashier.

He got the bag and hopped into his car and the delicious scent filled the car immediately. His stomach growled, he could use a meal. As he drove, he passed by a fruit vendor and saw "Hey, blueberries!". He stopped the car and got off, bought a dozen and hopped back in. He thought "Those are big ones, could pass for a big grape or bigger! How those compare to marulas?". He grabbed the satchel and opened it, the smell hit him even harder and there they were: green, not that much bigger than his favorite.

He smiled and got his phone.

"Hey Finn! Want to do something really dumb?"

"Hey Nick, long time.", answered Finnick over the many voices in his ice cream shop, "I still haven't closed shop. What's up?"

"A bag of marulas."

"What?"

"Yup. Got a bag of marulas right here with me. Wanna get hammered?", said Nick as he flipped his phone to show the insides of the small bag.

"You serious? God damnit, you are… Gi'me 10 and I'll close sooner."

"Ok, got my accomplice. Now Carrots.", thought Nick.

"Hello Chief Carrots."

"Hey Nick, got my seeds?"

"Sure thing honey. Right here with me. Say, hon', I'll do some catching up with Finnick and will arrive a bit late today, ok?"

"No problem, want me to drop the keys by the ZPD's reception?", asked Judy, distractedly

"Is DUI still a crime?"

"Sergeant Nicholas Piberius Wilde", now fully attentive to the playful smile her husband had, "aren't you a little old to go drinking mid week?"

"I'll take a cab and wont overdo it. I'll be by your bedside before you wake up and by the precinct in the morning, Chief."

"Ok, have fun and don't do anything stupid.", she knew that was a lost battle trying to convince him otherwise.

"Ok, now the old switcheroo.", proceed Nick in his line of thought. He grabbed a few napkins from the glove compartment and put it in the berries bag, then exchanged then: marulas in the paper bag, blue berries in the satchel. "You sacrifice will not be in vain, dear berries".

He got to the landfill and after some asking and found where he should go.

"Good afternoon! I'm here to drop a parcel for incineration.", said Nick

"You're a bit early in the week Officer… Wilde.", said the clerk, a bit surprised.

"Yeah, but those are already going bad. Here are the papers.", anxiously said Nick, as he left the bag and the parcel over the counter.

Nick signed what he needed and off he went. Dropped the car at ZPD, got a cab to Finnick's ice cream shop. When he arrived, Finnick was turning out the lights of the shop. Nick opened the cab's door to let his friend in.

"How the hell do you got these?", asked the little fennec.

"Later my dear friend, some things are better left in private.", said Nick, cutting him off.

The fruity caramel smell filled the cab as they fared around Sahara Square. They dropped at the city's pier and walked to the end of it, sitting down at it's edge.

"I love to see the sunset over here", said Nick as he placed the small paper bag between the two.

He got a good look at his friend: the golden of his fur was giving place to a pale corn's hair yellow, his eyes were still inquisitive, energetic, but the angriness was gone.

"Yeah." - Finnick grabbed a fruit, piled off its skin and started to chew on its meat - "Doesn't feel that strong, are they really good?"

"I believe so, the scent is quite peculiar. Is your nose getting bad with the years?", playfully asked Nick.

"No. I can smell the alcohol but not taste it."

Nick grabbed one and started to chew on it, the sweet caramel taste filled his mouth. He didn't remember the last time he could have one of those.

"So… how did you get those? I don't imagine they sell them in paper bags in the street.", asked Finnick.

"Oh… I incinerated them.", answered Nick as he took the nut out of his mouth and placed it by his side.

"Them what?"

"The berries that I switched those with."

"And where did those come from?"

"Zootopia's Customs Office."

"You stole them? Does Judy know of this?"

"Not quite, they were going to be destroyed and no. And she won't.". Nick looked at Finnick, a bit more serious now.

"Word.", answered Finnick, understanding that look.

They saw a small sail boat pass by in the horizon, the pier was very silent this time of the day. Finnick tossed his peel in the water and they saw fishes start to eat it in the surface.

"That's littering.", said Nick as he opened a wide grin.

"Sod off.", rebutted Finnick.

"Just don't spit the nut in the water. Invasive species and all."

"Aren't we all?", said Finnick, as he put the nut back on the sack.


	2. Stary, stary night

Nick grabbed a second one and bit its skin.

"Phew", Nick spited, "Bitter".

"You have to peel it, see?", Finnick picked another and cut the skin with its index claw. He then

just pressed the fruit until its meat came out of the peel.

"I know, but I've never tried it.", Nick pressed the peel and ejected the fruit into his mouth. As he chewed the bitter taste quickly gave place to sweet.

"How long have you two been together?", asked Finnick, between bites.

"Me and Judy?'

"No, you and Gazelle. Of course you and Judy."

"Heh, old reference there.", Nick smiled, while he counted the years, "19 years together, 15 maried."

"You are a very lucky bastard, you know that right?"

"Yeah, and grateful as heck. I think it was all the troubles we went through that made us stick together.", Nick took the nut out of his mouth and saw that it was very clean, he put it in his pocket.

"First prey-predator marriage."

"And adoption", Nick smirked.

"They called it 'Carrot's Law'", right?

"I wanted it to go with 'A fox and a bunny can be awesome parents you bunch of bigots' Law', but Judy didn't let me tell it to the judge."

The sun started to finally set, the horizon became fire and the two reached for round three.

"You never wanted to settle, did you Finn?", asked Nick, glancing at Finnick, looking for a reaction.

"I did, it was not my choice to don't.", Finnick looked at his own reflection in the water, "She… was a lot of trouble, it was while we hustled for popsicles and the sort."

"You never told me anything about her, who she was?"

"She works at the docks, name's Lucy. Most beautiful polecat I've ever seen: skin white as snow, eyes red like rubies and the biggest cheater at poker that I've ever seen. We actually met while I caught her with a literal ace up her sleeve.", said Finnick with a sad smile, "We still get together from time to time for old times sake."

"You said she 'was'."

"Yeah, she doesn't do that sort of thing anymore, but she is not interested in anything more formal than hooking up from time to time."

"You could find another.", said Nick, watching the last rays of sunshine.

"Are there other Judys?", it was Finnick who smirked at his friend now.

"Touché.", answered Nick, thrusting a imaginary sword in the air.

Nick leaned back on his shoulders and watched as the first stars showed up in the night's sky. Finnick gazed at Nick's facade: the weary eyes, the gray that was taking over the red of his fur, his scruffy dark blue uniform had seen better days.

"Do you have any regrets Nick?"

"Do I? No, not really. Maybe me and Carrots could've got together sooner, but those things take the time they need to take.", he looked down at Finnick, with a very serious expression, "I'm still scared though."

"Police stuff?"

"Oh, heavens no. You sort of rough up the first years or get out of the force. There's only so much death and violence you can see and still care about it like a regular mammal."

"What them?"

"Of messing up. Of losing everything me and Judy have built up. Of losing her, the kids. Of disappointing everyone and being alone again.", Nick turned his face back at the horizon. "Did I do enough?"

"Nick, what the hell are you saying? Do you not realize how much things you both helped change?!", Finnick got up in an angry fit and immediately felt dizzy. "And why the hell were we eating those sitting down?", he laid a hand in a close pilar, trying to make the world spin a little less, "You are a father, you are a husband, you are loved. What else do you need?"

"People still give us weird looks when we are walking around with the girls and…"

"Yeah, the world is not sunshine and rainbows, it never was, but it's less shitty now. People at least feel ashamed for being bigots now and the younger folk don't care for species, pointy teeth or any kind of nonsense we older folk had to put up with.", Finnick shaked his head and grabbed the last fruit, "Let's walk, this is getting depressing."

Nick took the bag full of nuts and crumpled it into a ball. As they walked the way back in silence, they could feel the cold sea breeze cast it's fingers over then. Nick sighed.

"Thanks Finnick", with a sad smile on his face.

Finnick looked up at Nick, once again with a calm look on his face, "You are a good mammal Wilde. We may have done some bad things in the past, but you made up for it and paid triple.", he smiled, "You can't screw this up anymore Nick, you are too old for being dumb."

Nick smiled, "We are in possession of controlled substances, I smuggled cargo from the ZCO and I'm tipsy while wearing uniform", Finnick laughed, "I think I can be pretty dumb, little buddy."

"Screw you", Finnick threw the peel in the water and took a bite, "Man, those are really good. The old hustler afraid of something without any proof of happening?", he threw the nut in a trash can, Nick's paper and nuts ball soon followed.

"You got a point there, still, not the smartest thing ever. Say, you wanna grab the cab back home with me?"

"No man, I'm good. All this talk of past made me miss Lucy. I'll go meet her at her bar, hope she still likes I've-been-drinking-on-a-wednesday-me"

"See you man, have a good one. And take her to our home someday, Judy can make a killer blueberry pie and you two sure have some good stories to tell."

"See you Nick", Finnick waved and walked into the docks, soon becoming nothing more than a memory.

Nick grabbed a cab and headed home. He looked at his phones clock "11pm, Judy's not going to kill me, at least", he thought. He leaned his head against the window sill and fell asleep, as the night lights changed the car from dark to illuminated, time and time again.


	3. Where all ends meet

"Thanks, keep the change", he heard Judy say, "I will take him from here". She opened the door and took a little bite at Nick's neck. "Wakey wakey, half cut. How it was?"

Nick gave her a short kiss and scratched his eyes, "Hey hon', missed me too much?". He stepped out of the car and turned to the cab driver. "Thanks man, have a good night!".

Judy passed her arm around his waist and led him upstairs, in their house. "You should've put casual clothes, you know you shouldn't drink in uniform."

"I know Chief, but these are sooo comfy.", he put his nozzle between her ears, letting in the familiar smell, "The kids are already asleep?"

"Yeah Nick, they got school tomorrow."

"I know, I know."

They climbed the stairs to their bedroom, Judy climbed the bed and got under their blankets. Nick sited by her side and reached for her feet under the blankets, caressing then. He sat there looking at the wall, silently, until the silence became too uncomfortable for Judy.

"Nick, are you ok?"

He looked at her, the sad look of insecurity that she got to know so well over the years. She pulled him and hugged his head, covering his forehead with kisses.

"Oh my dumb, dumb fox. What is worrying you?"

"Everything?", he let his head rest at her lap, "Am I a good husband, Carrots?"

"The best when you aren't being a smartass", she smiled as she fondled his neck.

"Hardy har"

"I mean it, Nick: you are the greatest mammal that ever come into my life. Now go take a bath sweetheart, you have to sleep"

He hugged her once more. He stood up and took the marula nut that was in his pocket.

"Surprise seed for you.", said him as he laid it at the nightstand, and to the bathroom he went. The hot water flowing through his fur, washing his fears away.


End file.
